Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,302

On Thursday, September 18, 2018, this is how things are going.

Fighting

• According to the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Russia lost 360 unmanned aerial vehicles and 36 artillery systems in the previous day, along with an estimated 1, 020 people. The assertion has not been confirmed by Russia.
• Russian forces also attacked Ukrainian railroad infrastructure, according to the Russian Defense Ministry, as well as “storage and launch locations for long-range unmanned aerial vehicles” and “temporary deployment sites.
• Russian offensives in Sumy, Novopavlivka, Pokrovsk, and Zaporizhzhia have already been prepared, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, but “they lack the strength for large-scale offensives right now” according to Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Military

• Zelenskyy stated at a joint press conference with Roberta Metsola, president of the European Parliament, that the first shipment of US weapons was made through the Priority Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) system, which allows NATO nations to pay for the transfer of US-sourced weapons and technology.
• According to Zelenskyy, the PURL scheme has so far provided more than $2 billion to Ukraine, with estimates for an increase of up to $3.6 billion in October.
• Denmark will first purchase “long-range precision weapons” for the first time in response to Russia’s threat, according to Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen’s “paradox shift.” The decision was described as “pure madness,” according to the Russian ambassador to Copenhagen.

diplomacy and politics

• Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi thanked Putin on X for his birthday call and stated that India is “ready to make any contributions to a peaceful resolution of the Ukraine conflict.”
• After the death of conservative right-wing figure Charlie Kirk, according to The Associated Press news agency, Russian nationalists and online bots quickly stirred up conflict. They tied his death to US support for Ukraine and even spread the conspiracy theory that Ukraine was to blame for his death.

Energy and the economy

According to Kyiv’s minerals deal with Washington, Ukraine and the US International Development Finance Corporation will each commit $ 75 million to a joint investment fund. In exchange for post-war financial and military assistance, the deal, which Trump has referred to as “payback” for Ukrainian aid, was signed in May. It will grant the US preferential access to new Ukrainian minerals and natural resources licenses.
• According to data, Ukraine still needs up to $1 billion in additional fuel stockpiled to meet about 80 to 90% of its demand for the upcoming winter.
• The state statistics agency reported a 0.04 percent increase in Russia’s consumer price index in the week ending September 15 as opposed to the 0.1 percent increase the previous week. Comparing the overall price increase to 4.08 percent for the year to date with 5.78 percent for the same period last year, prices have increased by 4.08 percent overall.